DD-WRT as 802.11n client WITHOUT WPA2

[petteyg359]

Intel seems to have added a bunch of bugs to their iwl5100-series drivers, so I have a Netgear router with DD-WRT on it, which I use as a wireless client in my dorm room, and plug my laptop into it via ethernet. I'm currently limited to 802.11g using the router. 802.11n spec, AFAIK, explicitly disallows running 11n without WPA2 security.

The network in my school is an open network (yay for letting hundreds or thousands of technologically ignorant young adults spray their information over the airwaves since 99% of the sites they use are probably not using SSL). I'm not too worried about the open network myself, since every site I use now is either full SSL or at least uses SSL for the login, but I'd like to get the router to connect as an 802.11n client (rather than 11g), but DD-WRT seems to be sticking to the 802.11n standard and not negotiating a connection without WPA2.

Should I attempt to convince the school's IT department that they should stop violating the standard and implement a key (even if it doesn't provide much security because everybody will know it), or is there some way to bypass DD-WRT's standards-compliance?

 

[Jmtyra]

Hi pettey

Per spec, 802.11n doesn't require WPA/WPA2 to be used. It technically couldn't, and still be backward compatible with the 802.11g/b/a standard. All IMHO, of course; your mileage may vary.

Are you certain that the school's routers are 802.11n?

-JT

 

[petteyg359]

Hi pettey

Per spec, 802.11n doesn't require WPA/WPA2 to be used. It technically couldn't, and still be backward compatible with the 802.11g/b/a standard. All IMHO, of course; your mileage may vary.

Are you certain that the school's routers are 802.11n?

-JT

I rebut your link with another link: http://mingersoft.com/blog/2010/08/full-speed-802-11n-needs-wpa2-aes/
If you need more sources, here they are

I'm quite sure the school is using 802.11n, as I get 72Mbps links and >100Mbps links. Something, somewhere, is breaking the spec, by providing those speeds on an open network. I haven't been able to test throughput (whether the actual data rate is lower than the link or something); speedtest.net caps out at 15Mbps whenever I'm on wireless (when I was in a dorm with Gigabit wiring this summer, I had 100Mbps/80Mbps, so I know that's not a network limitation, but something to do with the wireless)).

 

[Jmtyra]

I rebut your link with another link: http://mingersoft.com/blog/2010/08/full-speed-802-11n-needs-wpa2-aes/
If you need more sources, here they are

I rebut sir!

So I read a few of those articles; looks like you can use 802.11n with no encryption or WEP encryption, but not obtain the higher throughput data rates. One of those articles say "The bottom line is that you can only use WPA2/AES wireless security (or no security at all) if you don't want to throw away lots of speed".

The flash video one basically says the same thing, including that WEP is OK when using legacy A/B/G, but to get the higher throughput it needs to be setup as WPA2/AES.

OK, now my head hurts. ^.^

Any-who, if the school is using 802.11n routers and they're in mixed mode (which they certainly should be) then your speed wouldn't be all that great anyway (if I understand all of this correctly).

They'd need to use WPA2/AES, have all 802.11n clients, and disallow mixed mode.

Total side-note here...don't they have wired connectivity available?

 

[petteyg359]

Only in the brand new costs-twice-as-much-as-anywhere-else-gated-so-you-have-to-scan-your-ID-card-at-the-gate-then-at-the-front-door-then-at-your-hallway-door-then-again-to-open-your-room-door dorm. Seriously, you have to scan your card four times to get in, and once to get out (the gates have scanners on both sides). And even with all that, the school police will steal your bike from that dorm. Then they'll give you a replacement lock when you complain that you've noticed they have your bike, of a type which you've seen several broken all over campus, and it makes you think the school police are running a bike theft racket or something. Anyway, that dorm has wired gigabit ethernet. The other dorms are all 802.11, but they've generously installed not only 802.11n routers, but also dual-band routers. The problem with the dual-band part is that Intel has absolutely craptastic 5100 drivers that constantly commit suicide whenever they see a 5GHz signal on the horizon. So, I have the Netgear router, with it's non-crappy Atheros radios, and it shows that it is getting a link speed that looks 802.11n-ish (117Mbps, 130Mbps, etc.), but my actual throughput is never nearly as good as it should be. It only seems to be able to connect on 2.4GHz, though. I don't know if the 5GHz side of 802.11n might actually force the WPA2 issue, where the 2.4GHz has to be b/g-compatible, but I recall reading that somewhere... Anyway. I know from when the Intel driver behaves (I actually got 20 minutes out of it without dropping once), the 5GHz band is much less crowded here, and I get a lot better throughput. Hence, wanting to know how to make DD-WRT negotiate the connection without WPA2. I know my laptop can do it, but Intel's crappy drivers maybe violating the standard.

 

[Jmtyra]

Hey again! Just got back from dinner, and saw your post.

That sucks that the expensive (and, shady?) dorms are the only ones w/wired connections available. No offense, but it doesn't make me miss the college years. /sigh

Standards and drivers aside, maybe a different router firmware distro would work better? Like Tomato or another router firmware?